“Elizabeth!” the voice yelled louder.

Elizabeth shot up from the ground in a panic. “Elizabeth, wake up!” Greyson shook her frantically.

“I’m up! I’m up!” She brushed him off of her as she looked around.

“We need to get out of here. The fire won’t go out!” Greyson exclaimed, coughing as he spoke.

A blanket of smoke covered the area. As Elizabeth looked behind her, she found the once calm campfire was blazing with life and uncontrollable.

Elizabeth scrambled to her feet as she looked around for anything to stop the burning. “Where’s Axel?!” she asked as she scanned the area in search of him.

As she looked around, Elizabeth got a full view of the fire. She stood there frozen in place, watching the flames with a blank expression. Her heart pounded in her chest and her face paled as the fire burned and the smoke surrounded her. Looking at the fire brought her back to that day, the day of the trials. Her breathing became rapid as she slowly took a step back.

“Over here!” He shouted. Axel frantically tried to smother the flames with dirt, but it didn’t make a difference. The fire only roared on as it grew more intense. “This isn’t natural! Not even for a fire made by magic!” Axel said.

“But it’s not magic!” Greyson replied in between coughs.

“You made this! Can't you put it out?!” Axel shouted to Greyson.

“No, I can’t because it’s not magic and I’m not a keeper anymore!” Greyson exclaimed.

“What do you mean you’re not a keeper anymore?!”

The fire roared on, becoming more intense the longer they stood there. “Stand back. Elizabeth and I will try to contain the fire,” Axel ordered. He got closer to the fire, sticking. his hands out. As he did, a green dome formed around it, trapping it so it couldn’t spread farther.

“Elizabeth. Help me contain this.” Axel called out to her but got no response as Elizabeth stared at the flames in a trance-like state.

“Elizabeth…” he began as he glanced over at her. He stared at Elizabeth until realization hit him, then he pulled his hands away from the dome, causing the barrier to fade away and the aggressive fire to continue raging.

“I think I know how to stop it,” Axel yelled.

Axel slowly made his way to her. Once he got close, he stood between Elizabeth and the fire, his tall frame blocking her from staring at it. “Hey, snap out of it!” He placed a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder and gently shook her. It was grounding to her, snapping her out of whatever trance she was in. “You’re okay.” He reassured.

Elizabeth blinked away her blank stare and shifted her gaze from the fire to Axel. “Whatever happened in there wasn't real. It was a dream.” Elizabeth nodded as she processed what he said. She took in rapid breaths in an attempt to calm down.

“Just breathe,” Axel instructed. She forced herself to take deeper, slower breaths. With each one, the fire’s intensity shrunk. The heat around the area lessened and smoke dissipated with every exhale.

Axel glanced over his shoulder to see the fire shrinking. Elizabeth’s breaths grew slower and more controlled once the flames returned to their normal size. The flames flickered gently, casting a soft glow over the area as the sun began to rise.

“What…What happened?” Elizabeth asked, blinking herself back to reality. She looked around to see the smoke dissipating and ash covering Axel's and Greyson’s faces. “Are you guys alright?! The fire…”

“Is controlled,” Axel said, moving to the side so Elizabeth could see the campfire. Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief, all the distress she felt washed away.

“I thought guardians don’t need sleep.” Greyson raised a brow at Elizabeth and Axel. “How did that happen?” He pointed to the now calm fire.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Elizabeth opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the words to say, but nothing came out. “Everything is under control now, so we don’t have to worry about that.” Axel went over to the campfire and began to throw dirt on top of it, extinguishing the flames.

Dusting off his hands, Axel looked at Elizabeth and Greyson. “I think we should get ready to head out, right Elizabeth?”

“Yes, the sooner we leave, the better.” She agreed. “There’s no time to be standing around.” Elizabeth quickly grabbed her sword from where she rested and resumed the walk up. Axel followed behind her.

“Come on liar! We aren’t taking any more breaks!” She called out to Greyson.

“What a great way to start the morning,” Greyson muttered as he slung his satchel over his shoulder before catching up to the others.

The events from the morning left everyone a bit on edge, but it took a toll on Elizabeth the most. As they continued their climb up Stetding Rise, Elizabeth trailed slightly behind Greyson and Axel. They seemed to be in deep conversation ahead of her which eventually became a blur. Thoughts from earlier took over her mind. As she thought back to her dream, the chaos that occurred when she awoke became obvious. The two had a connection. She just couldn't figure out why or how. Her theory made her feel uneasy, but it confirmed her suspicions from when it happened at the Spire.

As they pushed on, the cold air warmed up, and the once thick trees that loomed over them thinned out. Turning the once lively area desolate. Axel and Greyson took turns glancing back at Elizabeth. Eventually, Axel slowed his pace to match Elizabeth’s, letting Greyson walk ahead. Silence hovered over them for a bit until Axel spoke up,

“From what I saw back at Neburion’s I would’ve never thought you were still a guardian in training.” curiosity was laced in his voice.

Elizabeth looked at him stunned. “What? How did you know?” She replied trying to mask her surprise.

“Well, that fire didn’t just get like that out of nowhere. I suspect it’s connected to what your powers will be.” He looked at Elizabeth. “Katsumi did tell you about it right?”

Elizabeth nodded in response. Axel chuckled lightly “Knowing her, she probably made it sound more complicated than it really is. Especially at the knowledge pool.”

“Sometimes the answer to the deep self searching is right in front of you and you don’t want to see it. And from what I saw this morning, I think the answer is something you’re avoiding.”

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks at his words. She didn’t expect him to be so direct. “What do you mean?” She knew exactly what he was eluding to.

Axel turned to face her. “I mean that what happened this morning wasn’t out of nowhere. It was tied to you. I went through something similar when I was in training.” He paused as he gathered the right words to say. “When we were trying to wake you, you kept muttering about some trial and a bracelet. I don’t know you very well but, your past may be what’s stopping you.”

“I don’t think…” Elizabeth began before she was cut off by Greyson.

“Hey guys.” he called out. His voice was an echo as he was way ahead of them. The two had got so caught up in their conversation they had slowed down their pace completely.

“Are you sure this is the right Rise? Maybe we made a wrong turn somewhere?” His voice was weary as he continued.

Elizabeth and Axel exchanged glances, momentarily putting their conversation to the side. They quickly made their way up to where Greyson was.

The area was hot and empty, the little trees that were once in the are were now gone. The greenery and forest atmosphere became rocky terrain, and a sulfuric scent filled the air. Faint bubbling and hissing gave the area an eerie feeling.

“When I think mana pool, I think of a lively area.” Greyson muttered while scanning. “Not whatever this place is.” as he spoke, a burst of hot steam and water erupted next to him. With a startled yelp, Greyson jumped back.

Elizabeth stepped forward and scanned the area, the ground beneath them rumbled and more geysers began to erupt around them. “We’re close.” She furrowed her brows in confusion. “But it’s never like this.”

“Something’s off here.” She turned to Greyson and Axel. “These geysers never erupt, except for the one we’re heading to and even then, that one is dormant most of the time.”

“If its this bad here, who knows what’s going on at the rise.” Greyson added.

“You’re right, lets hurry and get up there.” Without hesitation Elizabeth began to walk in between the geysers. The ground shook under her as she carefully navigated through them some erupted, causing the steam to slightly obstruct her vision. Axel followed behind her, crossing through the violent eruptions unfazed, leaving Greyson to stare at them in disbelief.

“Are you two crazy!” he exclaimed.

“Come on liar, we have no time for this.” Elizabeth huffed, stopping in her tracks. “This is the only way to Youthaniss, so if you know any other I encourage you to share it or suck it up and come.” She didn't wait for a response as she turned he back to him and continued to make her way through the hot erupting water. Greyson sucked his teeth in resignation as he carefully followed behind them.

Once they got across the geyser field, Elizabeth, Greyson, and Axel were staring at a small temple. It looked worse than the journey to this point. The geyser covered by the temple was much bigger than the ones from the field. Unlike the other ones, it was dormant. The temple was surrounded by wilted flowers and dead grass. Cracks ran along the stone pillars, and weeds overgrew the statue behind the geyser. Elizabeth stepped closer to it, taking in the temple with disbelief. She looked to the statue, it was just like the one at the knowledge pool, but it had lost all of its glory.

“This…isn’t right.” Elizabeth’s voice was as low as a whisper when she crouched down to the geyser and touched it. “It’s like the life has been sucked out of it. The energy is weak…but I can feel it.”

“If it’s what I think is, then Mimlot has already taken over Youthaniss and he’s trying to get to other realms.” She said in a grim tone as she looked to Axel and Greyson. “Hopefully it’s enough to get us to Youthaniss.”

Axel placed his hand into the geyser. “It should be enough, the portal just has to be very…very…small.”

“Can’t Axel make a portal instead of risking it with this?” Greyson raised a brow.

“It would be an unauthorized portal. Mimlot would know we're coming.” Axel replied.

“But this one will take us to Yaldir’s temple in Youthaniss. It’s our only option at this point.” Elizabeth stood up and reached for her sword. She pulled it out of its sheath and stuck it into the ground beside the opening of the geyser.